


solar raider

by fratricide



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alien Biology, Multi, human-centric extraterrestrial societies, midlife crisis at 25, soft science fiction, unexplained interstellar travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-24 02:26:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13801425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fratricide/pseuds/fratricide
Summary: Kyungsoo's a plagued transport ship pilot, and Jongin's the runaway son of a politician. Planets collide, civil wars happen, and Chanyeol might be the core of the problem.





	solar raider

"The rear has a dent," Baekhyun says. Kyungsoo blinks a few times before sinking back into his armchair, surprised that his alarm hasn't gone off yet. "Okay," he coughs out, mouth dry and eyes swollen. The blanket around his shoulders slides down his arms when he shifts, neck stiff.

"A dent." Baekhyun looks mad. He always does. But he's also always been a bit sensitive and emotional. It's not a bad thing. If anything, Kyungsoo's always liked that about him. Out in the cusp of space, he forgets he's human sometimes.

"Can you give me a moment before you start yelling." Kyungsoo rubs his nose. "I need coffee."

"This is the third time this month that you've damaged my ship." It's chilly in the cockpit. Kyungsoo shivers.

"Is it?" He offers Baekhyun a smile.

Baekhyun stomps his foot down, and usually Kyungsoo finds his tantrums endearing, the way he finds dogs endearing, but he hasn't slept much this week and he's caffeine deprived.

The cockpit is quiet and the lights are out sans for the blue glow of the CP. Only Sehun's around, slumped over his panel, computer display over him on standby, snoring quietly. Taeyeon is still sleeping, and won't be up in at least a few hours. Baekhyun is the only one who manages to maintain an impressive schedule that begins 3 AM sharp and ends at 11 PM. Baekhyun is high-maintenance in general. Whereas Kyungsoo's pretty sure he hasn't taken a shower in a week. But that's what dry shampoo is for. Baekhyun would nag him if he knew.

"I'll let Minseok know. Later," he promises. 

Baekhyun furrows his brows for a moment, presumably in profound contemplation before nodding. “I’ll hold you to it, Soo.”

“I know you will,” Kyungsoo says. 

Baekhyun waves him off before stalking away and Kyungsoo relaxes and wheels around to check their coordinates. His alarm goes off. Next to him, Sehun startles up and bangs his head against the display mounted to the low ceiling and curses. 

 

The ship wasn't originally meant to be used for cargo transport, but that's all they had back when they started. They never make enough to upgrade and Kyungsoo's grown fond of it. Taeyeon calls it vintage chic. The room they use to store freight was added to the back later on. The frames are rusty and squeak when they dock on sea water and the salt hardens around the chips of paint peeling off the outer walls. That’s what their budget allowed at the time.

At night he can hear the bolts turning against the dry metal of the bulkhead of his bed frame. It usually ebbs away into a warm hum that persists until morning. It has a comforting edge to it, like soaking in warm water. It’s familiar, and it’s his. And maybe the ship’s contributed more to him feeling home away from earth than the fact that he has no home to return to.

He realizes he’s dozed off again when he wakes up to loud scratching, then a scream. The door slides open and Sehun steps into the cockpit heaving heavily, hands tight around the door frame. His denim uniform is falling over the sharp of his body in a way that reminds Kyungsoo of a coat hanger. It’s not an unpleasant sight, but oddly off. Makes him want to right it. 

Sehun seems to almost whimper into the quiet when he catches his breath.

Kyungsoo, with his hands around his coffee mug, blanket over his shoulders, wonders if he’s still sleeping. “What’s up?”

Sehun looks green in the face. “There’s something in the storage room.” He doesn’t move away from the door. 

“Like what?” Kyungsoo isn’t exactly worried. They’ve been out here for almost a week now, looking at nothing but dots of lights along the swimming road under them. It gets to everyone, sooner or later.

“A- A guy, I guess. In one of the crates. There's a living... A person in one of the crates.” There’s a tremble to Sehun’s voice. “I think he’s dead.” 

Kyungsoo shoots him a look and Sehun bristles. “It’s not like that… He’s real!”

“I’ll check it out,” Kyungsoo says. He puts his mug down and blanket aside. Sehun doesn’t look at him when he passes him by on his way out.

 

 

The storage feels oddly empty although he has trouble seeing the back because Sehun's lazy when it comes to storing properly. The LED light draws long shadows that don’t stretch to the corners of the room. He pushes cartons around, checks shipping numbers occasionally until he’s before a tall, agape crate without shipping number. Sehun’s work, no doubt. He pushes the lid aside completely and balks. 

Inside stands an edged pod made of clear glass. Taller than himself, and thicker. With tendrils of cables furled around the base up to small screen on the lid. He presses a hand to the glowing touch pad attached to the long stretch of cable eating its way up, and the tube releases a cloud of cold, syrupy smoke and shrieks loudly. The front springs open. The room fills with a rancid smell that has him gagging into his collar, eyelashes wet. Cramped inside is a body wrapped in cellophane, unmoving, and Kyungsoo thinks whatever’s inside must have died asphyxiated by the gas. But then the bundle jerks and falls to the side, sliding down the tube walls to his feet. Kyungsoo squats down. Definitely humanoid. With dirty blonde hair covering most of its face. But whatever’s visible of it seems to glow.

The man jerks again but this time up, and Kyungsoo veers back. For a moment it’s quiet except for the faint cackle of plastic and heavy breathing.

A dry cough and then, “I can’t breathe.” 

Kyungsoo doesn’t move. “Who are you?”

Silence.

The man swallows loudly, then coughs. A pregnant pause. "Where am I?"

Kyungsoo licks his lips and says, “Route 34, near the Orion.”

“Oh.”

Kyungsoo jumps to his feet and puts distance between him and the lump on the ground. The smell is making his head hurt. He pats his belt for his boxcutter and presses it flat to his thigh, just in case. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm... Kai?" The man tries to sit up but falls down again, head colliding hard with the ground. The lights flicker.

"What are you doing on my ship, Kai?"

 

 

Taeyeon is the first to speak. “So you found alive cargo in the back.” She’s smiling but Kyungsoo knows that smile. Her hands, fingernails short and bare, are tensed to her side. “And he’s… not human.” They all look at Kai sitting on Kyungsoo’s chair, hands cuffed. Kai’s shaggy hair sticks to his forehead in unnatural, almost neon yellow tufts. “Definitely not human.” Baekhyun had to look for cuffs, in one of the unused cargo holds. It’s too small to store the kind of freight they transport, so it stands empty now. Sometimes Baekhyun hides trash inside, because he knows no one really bothers with it.

Baekhyun scratches his head. “Well, I mean... What’s his shipping number?”

“He has none,” Sehun says, pressed against Kyungsoo’s side like he’s been employed as personal bodyguard. Kyungsoo wishes he wouldn’t. It’s a trained habit Sehun’s never shaken off, and Kyungsoo’s grown too soft to reprimand him. 

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Taeyeon says. “How did you even end up here?” Her hair’s up in a messy ponytail, falling over her shoulders in a mellow slump. It’s a contrast to the harsh lines on her face. 

Kai looks a bit green, forehead slick with sweat. “I can’t say.” 

“What do you mean you can’t say? Does that make any sense to you?” Baekhyun’s mostly perplexed. He's always been the type that is easy to handle. Good with words, he calls it. Kyungsoo’s always liked that about Baekhyun. He used to wish there was more to dislike.

It’s a bit surreal, watching. Sehun grabs at the back of Kyungsoo’s uniform, thumb digging into the low of his back. “Well you were loaded in yesterday when we stopped in Busajo. We only had break bulk up, no, what was it again, pods?” Baekhyun says. “Chanyeol… He wouldn’t, right?” He sounds confused, if anything, articulating wildly with his arms in Taeyeon’s direction. 

At that Kai begins to fidget. It’s not very obvious, and Kyungsoo’s looking too hard. “Do you know Chanyeol,” he asks.

Kai opens his mouth then closes it before mumbling, “No, I don’t.” Next to him, Sehun tightens his grip. “He’s lying.”

“Seems like you do, though,” Baekhyun says.

“I.. I mean, I might. Maybe. I know a lot of people.” 

Taeyeon snorts. “God. How old are you?”

“Old enough.” Kai’s frowning, pulling at the cuffs. 

“Well then, since you are old enough, I’ll be holding you accountable for sneaking on board with potentially malicious intentions. And I will contact the authorities as soon as we land in New Venea.” He knew she was angry. “For now you’ll be kept confined in Sehun’s room.” 

Sehun looks like he’s about to protest until Taeyeon adds, “And Sehun will be staying with Kyungsoo.”

“And where do I sleep?”

“I don’t know. Who cares. I never went to school.” Taeyeon’s all smiles and Kyungsoo breathes.

Baekhyun giggles, “But then how come you are so smart?” And then, “Soo is of course free to stay with us.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and nods his head at Kai. “You. Follow me.”

Kai makes to stand up when Sehun says, “I’ll show him. You don’t have to.” 

“I’m a big boy. All grown up. Don’t worry.” He pulls away from Sehun. And it's his responsibility anyway. 

“What if he really is a criminal? I’m trained for this stuff.” Sehun’s always like this, oddly overbearing. Kyungsoo knows he’s not in it for the wrong reasons but it makes him want to establish limits. He should’ve years ago. Back when he realized Sehun was just a bit too present.

“I can handle this.” He nods in Kai’s direction again, who jumps to his feet. On his way out, he catches Sehun looking at him, eyes hard. 

 

 

Kai, he finds out, is very quiet. It’s refreshing, a change from the incessant noise he’s always surrounded with. Even Sehun, who’s too shy for someone his age, always finds something to talk about. He thinks about the glass pod in the storage. Rancid smell locked away until they land tomorrow. They never invested in a fancy oxygen vent. It'll take forever for the smell to disappear.

Sehun occupies a small room on the lower level. He had asked for it, when Taeyeon had hired him without consultation. It’s not fancy, but neither is the rest of the ship. 

Kai looks out of place in Sehun’s room. And now without anyone demanding his attention, Kyungsoo’s eyes linger longer. Kai’s dressed in expensive silk. Long white sleeves and tight dark denim. Kyungsoo suddenly feels a bit self conscious in his dirty uniform and greasy hair. Showers are a luxury he’s never insisted on.

“What kind of fuel….,” Kyungsoo starts but Kai looks nervous and Kyungsoo berates himself for being uneasy around a petrified teenager. That’s what Kai appears to be, anyway. Hair too yellow to be anything but naive.

“How old are you?” Before Kai can react, Kyungsoo adds, “Just curious. Because you look around Sehun’s age.”

Kai juts his lower lip out. “Sehun is the tall one, right?”

“Yeah. That’s him. Always making me look below average.” Kai laughs at that. It’s not a particularly elegant sound, but it’s pleasant and comfortable.

“I’m… I’m nineteen,” a year younger than Sehun. “You have to help me.” Kai looks at him, eyelashes wet. “I need to get to New Seoul.”

“Are you being pursued? I’m sorry but I can’t get in trouble.” Kai looks at him. “Legal trouble, you know.”

“Please. Please, Kyungsoo,” his voice comes out whiny and nasally,” Kyungsoo, right? I really can’t go back.”

“Why can’t you go back?” Kai looks away. “I can’t help someone whose intentions I don’t know.” Kyungsoo sighs and pulls Sehun’s desk chair closer to sit down. “Be honest with me.”

“I don’t know…”

“Okay, baby steps then. Let’s start with your real name.” Kai puffs his chest out, forehead red. “Kai is my real name!”

Kyungsoo snorts.

Kai deflates. “Okay maybe… Maybe it’s not. I… I’m from Asmania, originally." Kyungsoo's never been interested in Venus, mostly because a tourist visa has never been affordable considering his meager salary. Baekyhun's been there before, but he likes to pretend that he's mysterious, so he doesn't talk about his childhood much. It doesn't exactly surprise Kyungsoo that Kai's from there. "There was this cartoon I really liked. The hero’s name was Kai.” His eyes widen and he’s showing teeth and it’s cute. Kyungsoo catches himself smiling.

“What was it about?”

“Um, well. It was about pirates. Like really old ones. From before the Sun. Kai was an orphan and he traveled.” 

“So you borrowed his name.”

“Yeah. My real name is… It’s Jongin. That was my grandfather’s name. He died before I was born.” Jongin stretches his legs out, posture relaxed. “And my dad’s always wanted me to be like him. So, I guess he thought that naming me Jongin would be a good approach.” 

Kyungsoo’s never had anyone expect anything out of him. Surviving was the only thing required of him. He thinks Jongin must’ve always been well cared for. Never had to live through hardships. It's not an inherently bad thing. Not everyone has to suffer. Kyungsoo doesn't feel bitter, but it's a weird sensation. He looks away. “But it wasn’t.”

Jongin grimances. “I can’t go back, Kyungsoo. You probably think I’m a criminal or something, but I really can’t go back.”

Kyungsoo wonders what Taeyeon would say if she were in his position. They’ve always been alike in the way they see the world. “I can’t promise you much, I’m afraid. I’ll talk this through with the rest, and then we’ll decide. Sound good?”

Jongin shrugs. “Well, I’m glad you aren’t kicking me out, to be honest.”

“Would be kinda difficult, considering we are nowhere near land.” Jongin exhales a loud, wet laugh. It sounds oddly desperate to Kyungsoo. He doesn't know what to think.

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this for a fic fest back in 2016 (I believe) but never got around to finishing it because I was bound to a really tight schedule. Most of the chapters (max 12) are outlined, and I'm a faster writer now, I guess. So I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to finish this in like maybe two months.


End file.
